Jersey City- Filipino youth organization, Anakbayan New Jersey, mobilizes community support after hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc along the east coast last Monday, Oct. 29. The Filipino youth organization calls on the local Jersey City government to prioritize assistance for working class and immigrant communities. The said efforts are part of “Operation Kaligtasan/ Operation Safety”, a Filipino volunteer based emergency disaster response team. After the storm, members of Anakbayan New Jersey conducted a preliminary assessment of the effects of hurricane Sandy and the immediate needs of the Filipino Jersey City community.

Community left in the dark

Working class and immigrant communities are literally and figuratively left in the dark due to power outage and lack of information dissemination from the city government. Based on the assessment that Anakbayan NJ made, the major concern among the community is the extended power outage and its effects on the people’s livelihood. “A majority of the city has been out of power since Monday. In a predominantly immigrant and working class community such as Jersey City, not being able to work for an extended period of time means no food on their families’ plates, delayed bill payments and unstable living conditions,” said Bea Sabino, Chairperson of the local Filipino youth organization, Anakbayan New Jersey.

Also based on the assessment, most Jersey City residents are frustrated by the City of Jersey City’s inefficient methods of disseminating information. Dissemination of updates about resources available to the community have been limited to an unstaffed City Hall and inaudible police patrol car announcements. This, according to the youth organization, left the community relying mostly on word-of-mouth for information. “There are shelters, food and water distribution services available in certain locations across the city. However, the communities who are in dire need of these services are neither receiving this information nor can access it due to the ineffective communication systems between local city government and residents,” Ms. Sabino added.

Power to the people

With frustration building-up and uncertainties piling up, community members are coming together to save themselves. Conversations between concerned citizens and community leaders are leading to an effort to unite the diverse neighborhoods of Jersey City to voice out these clear cases of government neglect of working class and immigrant communities.

“We call on Mayor Healy, and the local Jersey City government to not leave our communities in the dark. We demand immediate government assistance for the residents of Greenville, Bergen-Lafayette, West Side and Journal Square. We also demand to immediately address the long power outage in our neighborhoods and lastly, to improve information dissemination regarding updates on what the city is doing by working closely with grassroots organizations,” concluded Ms. Sabino. In the following days, Anakbayan NJ, in collaboration with local community organizations will be conducting more surveys and will be distributing information sheets for relief and assistance in Jersey City.